In a "ground-breaking labour neutrality agreement", Microsoft
"Earlier this month we announced a set of principles that will guide our approach to labor organizations, and the Activision Blizzard acquisition is our first opportunity to put these principles into practice," Microsoft President and Vice Chair Brad Smith is quoted in the announcement. "We appreciate CWA's collaboration in reaching this agreement, and we see today's partnership as an avenue to innovate and grow together."
The announcement lays out five provisions that are covered in the agreement: first, the agreement establishes Microsoft's "neutral approach" to unionization; second, the agreement states that communication and information sharing will be allowed between workers and union representatives; third, Microsoft agrees to introduce a "streamlined process" for joining a union; fourth, workers' union votes can be made confidentially; and finally, Microsoft says that future disputes with CWA may be settled through an expedited arbitration.
"This agreement provides a pathway for Activision Blizzard workers to exercise their democratic rights to organize and collectively bargain... and establishes a high road framework for employers in the games industry," CWA President Chris Shelton said. "The agreement addresses CWA's previous concerns regarding the acquisition, and, as a result, we support its approval and look forward to working collaboratively with Microsoft after this deal closes."
The agreement would mean that the roughly 7,000 workers at Activision will no longer need to file with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in order to hold a union vote. While traditional NLRB union pushes can take months or even years of legal battles, the new process will expedite the procedure using the oversight of a neutral third party.
"In practical terms, it means that we're not going to try to jump in and put a thumb on the scale," Smith said in an interview. "We will respect the fact that our employees are capable of making decisions for themselves and they have a right to do that."
Prior to the agreement, CWA had voiced concerns about potential antitrust violations in the Microsoft Activision acquisition.
"The potential takeover by Microsoft threatens to further undermine workers' rights and suppress wages," the CWA wrote in a letter to federal antitrust regulators in March.
In all likelihood, the deal between CWA and Microsoft will be the first of its kind in tech. Efforts to unionize at Activision reached a peak in December of 2021, when a walk-out protest was held following the dismissal of roughly a dozen contract workers. In May of this year, 28 quality assurance, or QA, workers unionized at Activision's Wisconsin studio, Raven Software.
"Microsoft's binding commitments will give employees a seat at the table and ensure that the acquisition of Activision Blizzard benefits the company's workers and the broader video game labor market," Shelton said.
Employees in the video games industry are notoriously overworked, with so-called "crunch" being a consistent issue, particularly amongst QA employees. Workers at Activision Blizzard also made complaints about the studio's permissive attitude towards sexual harassment and discrimination.
Of course, Activision isn't the only company that has been vigorously fighting unionization efforts in recent months. Between mandatory meetings, anti-union advisors, and retaliatory store closures, big businesses are doing everything in their power to block workers' access to collective bargaining. Several major companies, including Amazon
